Thread: Any R16's as good as scorpion AT's?

Hi, Just thought i would chip in.
I've just put on some new pirelli ATR's 245/70/16. Done 1500km's on em.
Just got 105 000km's out of the old pirelli AT's could have got some more(10-15000k's) but didn't want to risk with all this rain.
The new ATR's feel just a grippy and sure on the black top (wet & dry). No tyre noise, steering feels a little looser on the road. The ATR's dont feel like they hold a straight line on the road as well as the old AT's but nothing bad, just feel 'looser' if that makes sense.
Would recommend these tyres to anybody. I have owned hankooks, bridgestones and michellins (all ATR's) and these blow em away on road and equall off.

Originally Posted by alpick

Looks pretty good thanks for the pics helps heaps.

Very similar pattern to the D694 AT as well, it seems the curved pattern is the new "thing".

Re noise on the tar how does the scorpion ATR compare with the AT please

That type of curve pattern gives lateral stability offroad from the centre, it gives drive from the outer lugs and it sweaps and clears water dirt from the pattern by the grooves opening up as they progress towards the outer part of the tyre - you see this also in the new Goodyear MTR with kevlar. The diagonal cuts will give drive and help clear the tread grooves with the angle making it smooth and quiet. The sips (little cuts) mop up under the tread blocks to increase the traction in wet weather on the road. Its also one of the few silica compound 4WD tyres, so a generation ahead of almost every other tyres rubber out there with the exception of the Goodyear MTR also - more traction and less wear, it will feel soft but you should get extra distance from them.

How does the tyre perform. Very smooth, rolls really well, rides nice, heaps of traction on dry and wet roads, brilliant on smooth rock, great on dry and damp tracks, mud and clay is the arch nemesis of this tyre. I bought them as road tyres, and was really surprised (in a good way) when I got them and tried them offroad. I was also surprised by them when I bogged it to the belly in mud at the bottom of my block.

While we are giving pirelli a good wrap I will put in my two bobs worth also. I reluctantly changed to the non-aggresive looking Pirelli ATRs on a holden rodeo 3L diesel dual cab after having some scary moments on wet roads with Cooper STT's. The STT's only had 30000km on them and heaps of tread left and were great off road. However they where a death trap on wet roads and until changing to the ATR's I didn't realize how noisy the STT's actually were. Living in Tassie I needed a good wet weather tyre also.

The ATR's totally changed the driving dynamic of the Rodeo and no doubt made it a better car to drive. Don't get me wrong my Coopers did many hard KM's in the NT before I moved to Tas and never missed a beat, I just think that the are not the all round tyre the ATR's undoubtablly are.

Now I know that this is a Land Rover forum so I had better tell you that the Rodeo is now gone for a more family friendly DIIa (which needs to be fixed way more often than the Rodeo) but I love it. As soon as I got it I fitted a set of 245/75/16 Pirelli ATR's and I am again very happy in all conditions.

I have had a few tyres most of which were on a DI TDi, so for what its worth here is my verdict.

Pirelli ATR's - best all round I have had, very confident wet road tyre, suprisingly good on dirt and off road for a tyre that does not look very aggresive, even surprised me in mud.

Cooper STT's - a very hard tyre to drive on due to rigid construction. great on dirt road and off road situations. Very long lifespan even though had many large chips in lugs from rocky roads. VERY noisy on bitumen and not good on wet roads.

BFG AT's - got very noisy below 60% tread left, not to bad off road, had lots of balance probs, not so good on wet roads. Good tread life but got hard and chipped alot on rocky roads. Quite a bit over rated I think but some rate them very highly.

Yokohama MT's (directional) - probably the best mud tyre I have owned and always seemed to outperform other mud tyreson mates cars. Poor life span as they are very soft got them replaced for free by tyre shop as were over 60% worn after 15000km. Good on wet roads and bitument for a mud tyre due to soft compound also reasonably quiet for a mudder. Not sure if they are still avail.

Also drove some police vehicles in the NT with Goodyear mud terrains which were very good on the dirt, off road and mud. Very noisy on the bitumen. No blowouts and we drove those poor police cars hard. Also had Cooper ST mud tyres on police cars and much quieter than the Good year MT's on the black stuff.

Had Bridgestone AT's when we were unfortunate enough to be issued Nissan Patrol police cars in NT. Best I don't comment about these tyres, let me just say that I changed quite a few of them on the rough dirt roads in the Alice springs area.

I hope my wife doesnt seem this post and start adding up how much I have spent on tyres. Sorry for blabbing on so much. he he

Take a look at this old post: Good AT Tyre review (Australian) - 14 brands

I got ATRs for my 90 and they are brilliant. There may be better tyres in the mud, but for everything else the ATRs are fab.

thanks but for me the links in the old post no longer "link"D'Oh.

Yeah - you are right

They must have shifted the article. I had a quick poke around their site, but couldn't find it. Sorry.

Thanks to all who responded with their comparisons and comments.

As I had not been able to view a Pirelli ATR at a dealer the photo's were particularly helpful Slunnie.

As a result it seems the Pirelli ATR's are as good as, and probably better than the AT's. Combined with comments by two dealers that they were awarded 4WD tyre of year sometime ago that's what my D2 will be reshod with.

Thanks again,

Al

I think you will be very happy with them.

Report back in a few weeks and let us know what you think.

Cheers
David